Forgive Yourself
by Highland Bride
Summary: How can he expect forgiveness if he can't forgive himself? Can she help him forgive himself and in the process forgive him herself? A story of acceptance, forgiveness, and love. AU: Fred and George are alive, Dramione, slight Ron bashing. Rated M for flashbacks.


_**Hello readers, this is my first story in a very long time. This idea has been stuck in my head for a while and you may notice that I have taken some liberties with the characters. For instance, the Weasley twins are both alive, there may be some small amounts of Ron bashing. This is a dramione story, so be prepared for angst, love, and acceptance.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Harry Potter was written and is owned by J.K. Rowling.**_

 _ **Two years after the battle of Hogwarts**_ _ **.**_

 _It was almost a full year after the battle before Hogwarts was completely rebuilt. Many of the older students volunteered to help rebuild while the young witches and wizards were able to continue their education in the remaining parts of the castle. For some children it was their first year of magical education while the castle was being rebuilt, and the negative stigma of the Slytherin house convinced Professor McGonagall to eliminate houses for the new students. After the castle was finished many of the older students went back to finish their education, including Hermione. Ron and Harry had already received job offers from the Auror department and thus did not go back to school with her. In an effort to re-introduce the houses and to foster trust in all houses, the head girl was Hermione and the head boy was Blaise Zabini. Without the pressure to stay on the good side of death eater families his real personality was shown, and his kindness and talent made children excited to finally become sorted. He befriended many of the first and second years, becoming a mentor. The other returning Slytherins were scared at first that they would be ridiculed against, and they were at the beginning. But, as the year progressed, and they were able to follow Zabini's example, they slowly integrated themselves with the rest of the school. This was the first year that the sorting ceremony was held at the end of the year rather than the beginning. The headmistress realized that the friendships bonded within that first year were much more likely to continue even after being sorted into houses which allowed them to finally achieve school unity. Of course, there were still rivalries where quidditch was concerned, but the houses were able to celebrate victories and losses together instead of being isolated._

 _She knew that after she graduated and got out into the real world that things would be different. Working at the Ministry of Magic was always her dream and fighting for the freedoms of repressed magical beings was her calling. Usually she loved closing herself off from the world and reading for hours and hours, but this type of reading wasn't as fun as her usual reading. The legal research she was doing was tedious and boring and she often-times found herself re-reading the same sentences repeatedly as she struggled to read the boring text. Hermione wished that she could go to the legal department here at the ministry and ask them for advice, but he worked in that department and she would do her best to avoid needing his help._

 _After the battle of Hogwarts everyone who fought for Voldemort was imprisoned. It was a long process to view everyone's memories and determine whether they supported him of their own free will or if they weren't. Most of the adult followers are living out their lives in Azkaban while a good number of their children were found innocent and released back into society. It's hard to imagine that Draco Malfoy was found innocent, Hermione had a difficult time thinking of what would possibly convince the Ministry that he didn't deserve to rot in Azkaban. Then, when he gained employment in the legal department, she could not believe it. He was despicable, could they not see that he would use the intelligence gained in that position to wreak havoc within the wizarding world?_

 _It was this thought that interrupted her reading the same sentence once again that convinced her it was time to head home. Sometimes she wonders what her life would be like if her and Ron had continued to date after the battle. They started to grow apart when she went back to school, and he started work, they decided to break off their relationship and since then their lives just hadn't intersected again at a place allowing them to start back up their relationship. Then again, Hermione also remembered how he always made fun of her passions and there's no way she could tolerate that within a romantic relationship. Thinking about Ron made her want to visit some of the Weasleys, so she decided to stop by Diagon Alley before heading home. Fred and George still worked in their shop, Weasley Wizard Wheezes, and it was likely that she could bump into Ginny there as well._

 _Her mind was focused on the prospect of happiness with seeing her friends as she walked through the Ministry to the floo fireplaces. She nodded politely at the floo attendant, taking a handful of powder before stepping into the fire, yelling "Diagon Alley!" and throwing her powder into the fire. The spinning made her dizzy as always and when she arrived at her destination she nearly topped out before catching herself and dusting her robes off. Even though it makes her dizzy she still prefers floo to the unpleasant sensation of apparition. Smiling brightly, she made her way down the street, she always loved looking into all the shop windows and seeing the faces of excited children as they discover a world they may not have known before. She remembered that feeling fondly and sometimes still dwells on the fact that some people would never know the truth._

 _This was the thought she was lost in when something crashed into her and send her falling backwards into her bottom. She let out a surprised yelp before looking to see who or what had hit her. Her eyes squinted as she was greeted with the familiar silvery blonde hair and sharp features that she had been trying to avoid. Her body instantly tensed up protectively as she glared at him. He stared down at her for a moment, seemingly shocked to see her before offering his hand to help her up._

 _"I'm sorry about that Granger, I wasn't watching where I was going."_

 _She looked at the outstretched hand suspiciously, electing to use her hands to push herself up from the ground instead of taking it. "No worries Malfoy, I wasn't exactly paying attention either." After regaining her footing she attempts to step past him to continue on her merry way, but was once again blocked. "Look Malfoy, I don't want to fight with you, but I will if you continue to block me."_

 _It was odd but she thought she saw a flash of disappointment flash across his face for a moment before he stepped to the side. "My apologies Granger, I promise I never want to fight anyone ever again. I just haven't seen you since the battle and I have about a hundred crumpled letters at home addressed to you, but I haven't had the courage to send them. I know you're still suspicious of me, and that's fine. But, I just wanted to let you know that I'm deeply regretful about everything that happened in the past. Out of the members of the golden trio I thought you may be the most understanding and forgiving, but I understand that I haven't earned that. Once again, my apologies." After his speech he bent at the waist, bowing at her before walking passed her without waiting for a response._

 _She was in a kind of daze thinking about his words. How could he be remorseful after all the heartbreak he had caused, how could he expect her to forgive him after what she and her loved ones went through thanks to him and his family. She was still dwelling on this as she entered the homey environment of WWW. Immediately her face broke into a smile, as she promised herself she would think about the odd behavior of Malfoy later, and she ran straight up to Ginny, hugging her tightly._

 _"Oh Ginny, I've missed you!"_

 _"Hermione! You've been such a stranger!"_

 _"yeah, I'm sorry about that, doing legal research has taken more out of me than I thought it would." She muttered sheepishly._

 _"Did we hear a little frizzy haired bookworm in here?" Fred and George peeked their heads around the corner, smiling brightly at Hermione and Ginny before each of them engulfed her in a hug. "We've missed our little bookworm friend."_

 _She was so happy she came to visit them and made a decision then. "Hey guys, I know it's an odd request, but I need to talk to you about an encounter I just had with Malfoy."_


End file.
